Anchor



A. LARSON March 12, 1957 ANCHOR Filed Feb. 25, 1954 40 Fig. 5.

Efi E EEE as Arthur Larson IN V EN TOR.

United States Patent ANCHOR Arthur Larson, Milwaukee, Wis.

Application February 23, 1954, Serial No. 411,784

8 Claims. (or. 189-92 The present invention relates to earth anchors.

The primary object of the invention is to, provide an earth anchor that is extremely simple in construction, requiring; no special castings or intricate moving means whereby the anchor may be marketed at nominal cost.

Another object of the invention, ancillary to the preceding object, is the provision of an earth anchor which consists essentially of only a shank, rod and fluke, and wherein the position of the fluke may be controlled from the earths surface after the anchor has penetrated into the earth.

Yet, another object of theinvention is the provision of an earth anchor which requires only a relatively small hole for the insertion of the anchor; which anchor may be expanded after its penetration, to, anchoring position.

Another object of the invention, is the provision of an earth anchor which necessitates only a hammer and wrench in its completetoperation whereby the anchor is ideally suited for anchoring swings, tents, tarpaulins, etc. These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparentreside in: the details of; construction and operation as more fully hereinafter describediand claimed, reference; beingrhad to the, accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure l is a side elevational view of the anchor as the same is being driven into the earth;

Figure 2 is another side elevational view of the anchor after the anchor has penetrated the earth to some degree;

Figure 3 is a view of the anchor at the limit of its penetration with the fluke being expanded to its anchoring position;

Figure 4 is a front elevational View of the anchor;

Figure 5 is a cross sectional view taken substantially along section line 55 of Figure 4 of the anchor; and

Figure 6 is a side elevational view on an enlarged scale with parts being shown in section for clarity of detail of the upper end of the anchor with the driving head or cap mounted thereon.

In its entirety, the anchor is designated 'by the numeral 10. Basically, the anchor consists of a tubular shank 12, fluke 14 and rod 16.

The lower end of the tubular shank 12 is formed with a downwardly extending lip 13 to which is welded, or otherwise rigidly secured, a hinge barrel 20. The fluke or anchor blade 14 comprises substantially a flat plate having converging side edges meeting a flat beveled penetrating tip 22. Pintle 24 is rotatably received in the barrel 20 and has its end portions welded or otherwise rigidly secured to the upper edge of the fluke 14.

Rod 16 is loosely disposed within the bore 26 of the shank 12. Rigidly secured to the lower end of the rod 16 is a hinge barrel 2%. Pintle 30 extends through the hinge barrel 28 and is welded or otherwise rigidly secured at its ends to the surface of the fluke 14. As will be noted in Figures 4 and 5 particularly, the hinged connections formed by the barrels 2t) and 28 are parallel to 2,7843 15 Patented Mar. 12, 1957 2. one another and spaced from' one another so that the barrel 28 and the pintle 30' are between the barrel 20, pintle 24 and the'tip 22 of the fluke.

The upper end portion of the rod l fi is threaded as at 32 and projects'upwardly through the upper end of the shank 12. Plate 34 closes the upper end of the shank and is provided with an opening 36 centrally thereof through which the upper end portionof therod 16 loosely extends. Collar 38 on top oftthe plate 34 also g-uidingly receives the upper end portion of the rod 16.

Nut 40 is threaded onto the upper end portion of the rod 16 and abuts the washer 42 on the collar 38.

The operation of the-device is relatively simple; by loosening the nut 40, the lower end of the rod 16 is projected furtheroutwardly from the lower end'of the shank 12 and oonsequently the fluke14'approaches a position wherein the fluke is a, substantial elongation of the shank. By tightening the nut 40 onto the. washer 42, the. rod16 is drawn upwardlythrough the shank 12 and the fluke 14 is consequently d'rawn' toward a right angular position with respect tothe shank 12*asyis particularly apparent in Figure 3;

To stabilize the anchor after the same has been driven into the earth, fins 44 are weldedtto diametrically opposite positions" on the shank 121 and project radially outwardly therefrom. Obviously, the number of fins necessary and the degree, of radial projection of these'fins will vary considerably with the types of soil in which the anchor is to be used; The upper endiportion of the shank 12 is provided with the customary guy wire attaching eye 46. a

To prevent injury to the upper. end of the rod 16 particularl'y-when theanchor is to be reused, a driving head orc'ap 48 is provideda Thecap 48 isin' the form of a cup. which simply nests over the upper end of the rod 16, nut; 40;washer 42 and collar 38; the edges of" the cap resting on the plate 34i Theundersurfacelofithe cap'48 is provided with a covering of some relatively soft metal such as lead 50.

Initially, the cap 48 is placed on the upper end of the shank 12 and the hammer then drives the anchor into the ground as shown in Figures 1 and 2. When the desired degree of penetration of the anchor is reached, the cap 48 is lifted oif and a wrench applied to the nut 40 to draw the rod 16 upwardly through the shank 12 to move the fluke to its anchoring position, as shown in Figure 3.

From the foregoing, the construction. and operation of the device will be readily understood and hur-ther explanation is believed to be unnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. An earth anchor comprising an elongated member having a longitudinal passage therethrough, an anchor blade hingedly connected to and depending from the lower end of said member for movement between an earth penetrating position wherein the blade extends generally longitudinally beyond the lower end of the member and an anchoring position wherein the blade extends generally laterally relative to the member, a rod extending slidably through said passage, the lower end of said rod being pivotally secured to said anchor blade at a position remote from the hinged connection of said anchor blade, and means operably connected to said rod and member for extending and retracting the lower end of said rod relative to said lower end of said member and swinging said blade between its earth penetrating and anchoring positions, the upper end of said rod having threads thereon and projecting through the upper end of said elongated member, an abutment surface on the upper end of said elongated member, a nut on the upper end of said rod, rotation of the nut in one direction engaging the abutment surface and retracting said rod upwardly through said elongated member swinging said anchor blade toward its anchoring position.

2. The combination of claim 1 and a removable cap on said elongated member encasing the upper end of said rod and nut for driving the anchor into the earth.

3. The combination of claim 1 and a removable cap on said elongated member for driving the anchor into the earth, said cap seating on said abutment surface and encasing the upper end of said rod and nut to protect the same.

4. An earth anchor comprising a tubular shank, a fluke hingedly connected to the lower end of said shank for swinging movement from a driving position generally longitudinally depending from said shank toward an anchoring position extending laterally beyond said shank, a rod loosely slidably disposed in said shank, the lower end of said rod being hingedly connected to said fluke, means operatively engaging the upper end of said rod sliding the rod through the shank and moving the fluke between its driving position and its anchoring position and retaining said fluke in its anchoring position.

5. An earth anchor comprising a tubular shank a fluke hingedly connected to the lower end of said shank for swinging movement from a driving position generally longitudinally depending from said shank toward an .anchoring position extending generally laterally beyond said shank, a rod loosely slidably disposed in said shank, the lower end of said rod being hingedly connected to said fluke, means operatively engaging the upper end of said rod sliding the rod through the shank and moving the fluke between its driving position and its anchoring position, the hinged connection of said rod to said fluke being 4 on an axis parallel to and ofiset from the hinged connection of the fluke to the shank.

6. The combination of claim 5 and a cap removably received on the upper end of said shank for driving the same into the earth.

7. An earth anchor comprising an elongated shank having a blade swingably attached to the lower end thereof for movement between an earth penetration position wherein the blade extends generally longitudinally beyond the lower end of said shank to an anchoring posi tion wherein the blade extends generally laterally relative to said shank, and means attached to said blade and shank for retaining said blade in its earth anchoring position and for moving said blade from the earth penetr-ating position to said anchoring position.

8. An earth anchor comprising an elongated shank having a blade swingably attached to the lower end thereof for movement between an earth penetrating position wherein the blade extends generally longitudinally beyond the lower end of said shank to an anchoring position wherein the blade extends generally laterally relative to said shank, and means attached to said blade and shank for retaining said blade in its earth anchoring position and for moving said blade from said earth penetrating position to said anchoring position, said shank having a longitudinal passage therethrough, said means attached to said blade and shank comprising a rod loosely slidably disposed in said passage, the lower end of said rod being pivotally attached to said blade on an axis parallel to and spaced from the swingable attachment of said blade to said shank, and means adjustably mounted on said rod for engagement with said shank limiting the sliding movement of said rod toward the lower end of said shank.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,490,653 Wise Apr. 15, 1924 1,724,401 Green et a1. Aug. 13, 1929 Green et al Mar. 10, 1931 

